Angel In Darkness
by Kelvena
Summary: One year after Zebes, Samus is fighting evil in a planetary war. But trouble looms when she begins having strange nightmares about the metroid menace. (CHAPTER 2 UP).
1.

Metroid

**Metroid: Angel In Darkness **

Hi readers.This is my first ever fanfic and since I was getting back into playing metroid, what with the 128 bit version around the corner, I thought that would be the best category to do it on (Plus the lack of metroid fanfics on the web).This is the first of many chapters (Hopefully depending on the reception).It is actually mostly setting the story in this chapter and there is a little bit too much text I feel.At least with this chapter in place I can inject more action and humor into the coming chapters.My one fear is that this first chapter may confuse/bore the hell out of peeps and it won't be well received.We shall see I guess.Be warned Samus doesn't appear until halfway through and metroids don't appear at all (Yet...mwahahah).Anyways, enough babble.Here's the fanfic. 

**Prologue **

The destruction of Planet Zebes came as a shock to the intergalactic community.No one mourned the feared planets passing, nor did anyone mourn the annihilation of the space pirates on the planet at the time.Samus Aran was the only survivor and that meant she had some questions to answer.Less than a few hours after escaping from Zebes alive, she was arrested and taken in for questioning... 

One Year Later 

**Chapter 1 - The Tyran War **

Intense gunfire lit up the night sky of Planet Tyran.The war between the Galactic Federation's army and the Tyrans had intensified over the past few days.The Galactic Federation's colonisation of the planet had begun about a year ago.The Tyrans, the dominant species on the planet, resented the Galactic Federation's attempts to take over their planet and decided one day to fight back.And so a planetary war began.For a few months it was nothing more than an occasional fire fight here and there but one day the Tyrans went on an all out offensive.No one knew what prompted this sudden change of tactics by the Tyrans but whatever it was they were successful in wiping out Platoon 2-12; The Galactic Federation's first line of defence... 

And that's why Lt. Fiona Sommerville was here at the former base of Platoon 2-12.A recon mission into what was now enemy territory.The young 17 year old stood at about 5"5 and wore her long, smooth, dark purple hair in a pony tail since whenever she was in war it always got in the way. In only a couple of years since she joined the army she had risen through the ranks to where she was now; An officer in charge of her own five man squad.The voluptuous, blue-eyed teenager wasn't just a pretty face however.She was one of the Federations most skilled soldiers.She was dressed in her deep red Varian combats to blend in with the planets blood-red sands.This was just the type of planet the lieutenant hated.Dark, cloudy and depressing. 

She was in the ruins of what must have once been a quaint little village that belonged to a colony which chose to remain neutral when war broke out.Now all that was left were a few burnt out huts and shelters.She looked around at the corpses of once proud soldiers in the trench around her as she reloaded her weapon.It was unbelievable.Skin hung loosely off their bones, their skin was a disgusting shade of purple and there were no external wounds like gunshots or lacerations.They had been killed with remarkable ease, almost as if they hadn't put up any resistance to the attack.'The Tyrans were no more advanced than humans in terms of weapons and physical fighting ability.In fact, they were almost identical to humans, even in appearance...How could they manage to pull this off?', she thought to herself. 

She knew better than to ask questions during a fire fight but she couldn't help it.What on earth happened here and why on earth weren't the Tyrans walking over her squad as they did with Platoon 2-12.She finished reloading and resumed the exchange of bullets between the warring sides.It was no good though since she was firing blind.She could attack from the rear somehow but how could she get behind them?Gunship support was out of the question since it put expensive hardware at risk of being destroyed.Fiona cursed under her breath at the Federation's policy of money over soldiers.But she had to think now...No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't come up with a way to get at the enemy.All that lay in front of her was an open field. If her squad mounted a charge they would be turned into mince meat by the enemy chain cannons. 

The sky above her began to rumble slightly.Strange since the planet wasn't prone to storms of any kind.Probably explained why the planet was so dry.The lieutenant prayed that it was the gunship support she'd requested entering the planet's atmosphere but she shrugged that thought off when the sound let up after a minute or so.Now was the time to work out a strategy of pulling her team back for the time being before the enemy begansending kamikaze soldiers after them.But just then, from high up in the heavens, came the miracle she was hoping for.An Aerian combat missile flew directly into the enemy base, creating a massive explosion and a shockwave which shook the planet to its core. 

"What the hell...?!", exclaimed one of the soldiers. 

"Must be the gunship support I radioed for...but they said it was unavailable.I wonder..." 

From out of the Clouds emerged her savoir.But it wasn't a Federation gunship...This craft was a deep yellow colour and not even half the size of a Federation ship.That wasn't the only thing.The craft also lacked any Federation logos.Instead, on the base of the craft was a simplistic 'S' logo. 

"So who do you suppose that i...".Fiona didn't have time to finish her question before an anti-spacecraft missile launched from the enemy camp.The missile hit directly into the right wing of the craft, causing it to veer wildly in the sky. 

"Shit!Looks like that missile didn't take care of all of them.Fire!It'll distract the enemy from finishing off the spacecraft and give it a chance to land!" 

Sure enough once the squad started to fire on whatever survivors were left in the camp no missiles were launched.The craft landed haphazardly about 200 meters away from the trenches.Fiona stopped firing to see the hull door open slowly.She was blinded by the white light inside the ship.Obviously too used to the dark clouds of this planet.She narrowed her eyes to make out the shadow of a well built figure.As the light began to clear, she realised it was actually a battle suit...A pretty impressive looking battle suit at that.The orange shoulder pads rose up higher than the dark red battle helmet complete with a green scope visor which she imagined would probably have zoom, X-ray, UV and Infra Red modes as standard.The massive pads obviously gave more power to both arms of the suit, one of which sported an amazing SAMAS (Semi Automatic Multiple Action Shooter) on the end of it.The body inclined slightly at the centre, obviously for greater mobility, before jutting out at the hips again to give power to the lower half.The whole suit was clearly reinforced by some of the strongest implants that the weapon industry had to offer.Some of these parts couldn't even be acquired on the black market.The Federation put so many constrictions and red tape surrounding the upgrades you could have that there was no way this was one of their soldiers. 

The suit hopped out of the ship casually and took a look at the wing which had been blown all to hell. 

"My ship...", the battle suit muttered. "They'll pay for that" 

The suit ran at an amazing speed towards the trenches to join the other soldiers in battle.Upon reaching them it didn't speak but instead began to prep what looked like missiles into her cannon.Fiona stared in disbelief as the suit casually loaded and locked five missiles into the SAMAS in her hand. 

"Hey!Just who the heck are you?!" yelled Fiona before remembering this was the person who just saved her squad."I..I mean thanks and everything for helping us out back there but just who are you?!" 

The suit just looked at her for a moment, then began to focus on the enemy camp. 

"Don't worry.I'll take it from here," said a feminine voice from within the suit. 

"On who's authority?!This is the responsibility of me and my squad.I can't just let you come waltzing into the middle of a fire fight!Who are you working for anyway?And what's with that overkill battle suit?" 

The suit sat and stared at her like she was an idiot for a moment.As it did Fiona caught the eyes behind the visor.There was no mistaking that they were women's eyes. 

"You ask to many questions.Forget about them!" the suit said sternly."Just tell your squad to give me cover fire while I charge the enemy ba..." 

"What?!" She interrupted, amazed by what she was hearing."Are you insane.There's more than 100 meters between us and the enemy.How are you planning on making it between here and there in one piece, even with our cover?" 

"What did I just tell you about asking questions?You don't listen very well either do you?I can't believe you're a lieutenant in charge of these guys.Good job I came to help you out or these guys wouldn't have a prayer.Now shut up and just tell your team to cover me!" 

She glared with hatred at the person inside the battle armour.But it wasn't paying much attention, instead busying itself preparing a modern day smoke grenade which not only gave cover to a soldier but also blocked out their position on radar scanners.Even with one of those as cover it was a suicide mission thought Fiona.But, after that acid insult she just received, she didn't really care.If it worked it worked and if it didn't, well that was one less suicidal maniac in the world.Not that she thought for amoment it would work. 

She yelled as load as she could to get the attention of her squad who had been firing at the enemy the whole time and not really hitting anything.She yelled out basic orders to cover the person in the yellow and red suit.The soldiers nodded and took up cover fire positions.The suit released the pin of the cover grenade and it exploded in a flash.With it, the suit disappeared into the intense light and smoke created by the grenade and the momentary silence was broken by an explosion of machine gun cover fire.The occasional explosion could be made out in the distance over the gunfire but that was all. 

After a minute or so the smoke began to clear and the machine gun fire stopped.The base could just about be made out, but Fiona couldn't even hear the sound of enemy gunfire.Could it be that the plan really worked...But there was no sign of the suit either. 

"You want me to go check it out, sir?" 

"No way!Just wait a moment.I don't wanna take any chances.If you go out there and just one of the enemy snipers is alive, you're in a world of trouble." 

The soldier nodded in reply and then turned to look at the enemy base for any signs of activity.The thick silence was broken by a voice from the enemy camp.Fiona recognised it as that of the suit telling them the base was secure.In response she ordered her team forward.Proceeding with caution they made their way towards the enemy base. 

Upon reaching it, the squad were greeted by the suit thanking them for the cover. 

"Hey, I know you..." said one of the soldiers."Yeah, I've seen your picture in the news once or twice.What's your name..." 

"Samus," interrupted another soldier. 

"Yeah, Samus Aran!" said yet another of the soldiers. 

Before long everyone of the grunts was talking about the suit as if it wasn't even there.Fiona just stared in disbelief, not having a clue who this person was. 

"What's up chief?You don't know who this is?" 

"Whatever gives you that idea?" 

"This is Samus Aran.She's famous all over the Omegalpha galaxy.She destroyed that interplanetary virus...What was it called.Some sort of organism that drains the life energy out of it's victims and uses to it's one ends...What was it called!" 

"Metroid!" Said the suit bluntly, taking off her helmet in the process. 

The face that lay behind that mask had at one time been considered one of the greatest mysteries in the system.Samus had saved the galaxy three times from the metroid scourge but it wasn't until the third time when she destroyed Zebes that she became a real celebrity.She was offered everything from record deals to modelling contracts.But she was no supermodel.She was a galactic bounty hunter.That's how she lived and that's how she would die. 

There was no doubt about it though.Samus was the most beautiful bounty hunter in the galaxy.You'd be forgiven for thinking she was a model rather than a trained killer.Her shimmering blonde hair surrounded her angelic face and flowed smoothly around her body armour.The face of this smooth velvet skinned beauty inside millions of Gil (excuse the plagiarism) worth of military combat armour was a surreal sight.Her eyes seemed deeper than any ocean in the universe and darker than a moonless night on Poseidon (The Federation's home planet).Her full lips and perfectly formed cheekbones made her seem like the product of genetic engineering on a grand scale.But the only artificial thing about Samus was her suit. 

Despite her fame, Fiona had never heard of her.This had a lot to do with the fact that she had been preoccupied with her training since she joined the force and news and current affairs wasn't something she was really into anyway.Still, from the stories the guys were telling her about this person saving the galaxy on numerous occasions, she was surprised she'd never heard of her. 

"So you saved the galaxy huh?Well, what you just did was reckless and stupid.I'm amazed you managed to survive five minutes in combat if that's how you fight!" 

"Don't worry about me.This suit is one of the most versatile pieces of military hardware going.It can't be taken out easily." 

"Still...You...Um, I uh..." she stammered."Anyway, are you sure this area is secure?" 

"Yep," Samus replied with a quick nod. "But you may want to check the place over for details of the Tyrans mission plans or strategy.From what I gather they wiped out the entire platoon that were stationed here.Yet I took them out without getting a scratch on my armour." 

Fiona blinked quickly, suddenly remembering all those thoughts she had during the fire fight pre-Samus.Up until now she had been too preoccupied with Samus and her insults.She quickly ordered her men to check the base for any hints on what happened to the platoon that were wiped out.The squad quickly dispersed around the base in search for clues and Samus was left alone with Fiona. 

"So answer a question for me, Samus." 

"What?" 

"What are you doing here?" 

"What?You mean apart from saving your useless ass?" 

"You think you could cut out the insults for just a second?No, what I mean is, you're a bounty hunter.There's no money for you here.This is a Federation war over land.Nothing to do with bounty hunters." 

"Hah.Well I have a sort of unwritten contract with the Federation.If they need help in emergency situations they call in me to help out.It's a rare situation that they call me in to help but I can't say no.Since the Federation pays the bounty for 90% of the cases I take care of, if I don't help them I don't get pay.But they've only called on me three times before and that was to solve the Metroid case...I wonder why they need me over a stupid little land dispute.Oh, that reminds me.Here's papers from the Federation giving me power of this mission, sort of relieving you of command really." 

"What!" said Fiona, her eyes starting to water slightly. 

"Hey, what's up?" 

"B-But why would the Federation give you command...D-Do they think I'm not up to the job...I've trained as hard as I could for the past two years and that's still not good enough." 

"Jeez...I didn't know killers got so emotional.Listen kid.I got one briefing from the Galactic Feds.Come down here, investigate and resolve the situation.When I asked why me, they said I was the best individual they could think of for a case like this.Personally I'd rather be off killing idiotic space pirates but as it is I'm stuck here with you guys." 

"Doesn't matter how pretty you are.You're colder than ice!" 

"You think I'm pretty huh?" said Samus mocking the Lieutenant. 

"Grrr...." Fiona started before being interrupted by one of the grunts. 

"Hey, chief.You'd better come check this out.We've found a disc full of data on the Tyran mission plans.Also, we've got one of those scum bags breathing." 

"One of the Tyrans is still alive?!Where!Take us there right now!" Ordered Fiona. 

The soldier guided the two female warriors towards the dying creature which had suffered a major wound to it's chest.The Tyrans weren't dissimilar to humans.The only thing that set them apart were the reptilian features that the Tyrans possessed.Scales wormed their way up each arm, meeting at the chest.Hands were replaced by vicious claws and the eyes were deep red but aside from that, they were entirely like humans.This particular creature had been shot in the chest by one of the bullets from the fire fight earlier.Fiona was amazed anyone could be stupid enough to be hit in that little fire fight.Blood was seeping out of the wound at a frightening pace.She realised it didn't have much time left.She had to get some information out of it while she still had time. 

"Hey!What happened here yesterday?How did you wipe out the Federation's first line of defence?!" 

"Th-The C-creatur-ture," the Tyran coughed, spewing up a little blood in the process. 

"What?A creature?" 

"Y-ye--yes." 

"What creature?!Tell me!" 

The creature coughed loudly, this time spewing up a massive amount of blood.It was finished. 

"Some sort of creature...But, what creature could do this...And more important, where is it..." Said Fiona, thinking aloud. 

"What do you mean 'What creature could do this'?Do what?" 

"Oh sorry.You haven't had the pleasure of meeting Platoon 2-12 yet have you?" 

"Platoon 2-12?" 

"Yeah, they were the platoon that got wiped out here.They didn't brief you very well back at camp did they?You can find 'em back in the trenches if you want to check out the corpses.It's pretty gruesome though.They're blood looks like it's been sucked dry." 

"What?!In the trenches right!I'm gonna check it out!" Said Samus running off back towards the trenches. 

"Hey!Wait!" Yelled Fiona, but Samus was already long gone. "Damn it!What the hell is her problem.Anyway, what was this data you found, soldier?" 

"Well, our tech ace is looking at it now but it's heavily encrypted.It'll take at least a few hours to crack it." 

"Okay then.Tell him to keep at it.In the meantime you and the others secure the area so we can get some rest.Set up traps, early alarm warning systems.You get the idea.I'm gonna go check on what Samus is doing." 

The soldier nodded and ran off.Fiona turned toward the direction Samus had ran in and followed suit.When she got there Samus was knelt beside the corpse of a soldier.She was startled by Fiona's arrival and seemed visibly shaken by what had happened to the platoon. 

"Pretty creepy right?I've never seen anything like it before.How about you?" 

"N-no.Never..." said Samus sounding nervous. 

"You okay?Is the galactic warrior losing her cool?Listen, you want to get some rest I've told the guys to set up some traps around the perimeter while our computer nerd decrypts the enemy data.Could take up to fours hours he says." 

"Really?Did you forget that I'm in charge here and I give the orders?" 

"Oh come offit, Samus.You would have told 'em the same thing now you wanna get some rest or don't you." 

Samus nodded.The trip to the planet along with the fire fight had taken it's toll on her.She walked towards her ship, thinking only of the cosy bed she could take a nap in for a few hours. 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

Samus opened her eyes slowly.Her view was hazy and blurred.She was doped up with restraint drugs but could just about make out her surroundings.She was in a medical room.The entire room was painted a blinding white.On top of that, the lights on the ceiling were so powerful they were giving her a headache even through the drugs.She couldn't stop staring at them though.She couldn't close her eyes and block the light.She couldn't move with these drugs.All she could do was move her eyeballs from left to right and take in the room.To her right was a doctor preparing some sort of chemical injection.To her left was a Security Officer. 

She heard the sound of an automatic door opening in the distance, then footsteps walking at a scarily slow pace.Each step echoed in the empty medical room.Before she knew it, the footsteps stopped and a man dressed in a black suit was looking over her. 

"Ahh, Samus.Pleased to meet you.Sorry about the drugging and everything but this is standard procedure for all criminals suspected of intergalactic crimes on a grand scale." 

Samus wanted to yell at this guy, whoever he was.She wanted to yell at him and ask him what the hell he was talking about.She wanted to so badly...But she couldn't.These drugs were really strong.So strong in fact that she couldn't even open her mouth, let alone speak. 

"Now Samus.Let me explain the situation I have been presented with.Ten hours ago, the space colony Ceres was completely destroyed.The last we heard from them was a call about the capture of a Metroid and it's energy producing qualities.Naturally, this is one of the most valued creatures in existence.So valued that we ordered the scientists to put a tracer into the blood stream of the creature.Now after the explosion our records show the tracer went all the way to Zebes." 

Samus was really annoyed now.She already knew this.She had been there when it happened.She was so focused on this guy that she didn't notice the scientist inject her with some sort of serum.She only realised when the guy stopped talking to thank the doctor for giving Samus the injection.Samus eyed towards the scientist and then towards the guy. 

"Oh that?That's just a little truth serum.It'll disable some of the restraints we've place on you too.We wouldn't want you lying to us now would we?" 

Samus was confused now.Confused and scared.What did she have to lie about? 

"Now where was I.Oh yes.Five hours ago the Planet Zebes was completely wiped off the galactic map.I wouldn't normally mind but the Metroid was there at the time.The weird thing is...You were there on both occasions.No actually, that's not the weirdest thing.After the destruction of Planet Zebes, the tracer was still active.And where was it active you ask?Inside you.The tracer, the metroids blood in other words, is inside you.Now I want to know why!That's why you're here.You're suspected of attempting to smuggle the metroid blood off the planet unnoticed. After this you would obviously sell it onto the highest bidder, what with it being the only existing metroid blood on the planet." 

"That's bullshit!!!" The drug restraints on Samus finally snapped.She couldn't believe what she was hearing from this jumped up little prick in a suit.She'd save the galaxy, again, and was being accused of terrorism. 

"Well how do you explain the metroid blood inside you then?!" 

Samus had to admit she was stumped on that one...She thought hard and then she remembered.In the closing moments of her battle against the mother brain she was on the edge of death.The metroid came and saved her by injecting all of it's energy into her body.That's when it must have happened.After explaining this to the suit in front of her he smiled, an evil smile. 

"I see.Well, you're not all bad Samus.I guess we'll drop the charges against you..." Samus sighed when she heard the guys words. "But...we can't allow that metroid blood to stay inside you.We need it for the good of the galaxy." 

Samus opened her eyes wide at these words.She couldn't let them resurrect the metroid.It would only bring destruction.She knew that first hand.The metroid couldn't be controlled.It was a monster at heart and lived only for the souls it sucked from people. 

"No!You can't do thi..." She was interrupted by another injection to her arm. "Ow!What the he--" Samus trailed off.Her view became hazy again.She began to lose consciousness. her view blurred and swirled violently.Then darkness... 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

Samus opened her eyes slowly, wishing it was just a dream.She began to wake up and looked around her.She was in her ship...Was it just a dream...It felt so real to Samus.Almost as if it had acutally happened.She had been freaked out by the platoon who had their souls sucked dry in battle.It seemedjust like what the metroid did to it's victims...Maybe that's why she had this nightmare...She had forgotten all about the metroid menace up until today but now it was coming back to her in waves. 

She jumped at the sudden sound of the door slamming open.She quickly covered herself up, realising she wasn't in her battle suit at that moment, and looked towards the door to see Fiona standing. 

"Come on sleeping beauty get your shit together." 

"Didn't anyone teach you to knock!" 

"Shut up, Samus.We're moving out now." 

"What about the enemy data.Did you find out what killed those soldiers?" 

"No we're still working on it.But that doesn't matter right now.We have to push ahead.Word will have got to the enemy camp by now that we've recaptured the base.Then I'll bet they'll send whatever killed the original platoon after us.We can't allow them to get the jump on us like that!" 

"What about my ship, are we gonna just leave it here?!" 

"Oh, who would want this piece of junk anyway.It's wasted!" 

"It's repairable!" 

"Fine if it makes you feel better we'll set some basic traps up around it.But we can't just stay here and wait to die.We've got to move.So hurry up!" Said Fiona, slamming the door shut harder than she slammed it open. 

"..." Samus stared for a moment. "HEY!I THOUGHT I WAS IN CHARGE HERE!"


	2. Intermission

Metroid: Angel In Darkness

**Metroid: Angel In Darkness**

** **

Hey all.I can't believe it!I got good reviews for the first chapter of this fanfic so I figured what the heck do I have to lose by jotting down a second chapter.It's been a few months since I last wrote so I hope I've kept on good form.I doubt there are any of you out there, but if there is someone reading this who hasn't read the first chapter, you should probably check that out first.And it has been a while since I posted up the first chapter so I sketched down a cool little 'What Happened In The Last Chapter' bit below (Just to jog your memory or whatever).Okay then, I hope you enjoy it.****

** **

**What Has Gone Before**

The planet Tyran is a war zone.The battle between the Galactic Federation and the Tyrans had been raging for a while but until now the sides had been locked in a stalemate.One day ago the Tyrans attacked a Federation post and completely decimated the squad there.A recon team led by the young energetic officer Fiona arrives at the scene but find themselves in a firefight with the Tyrans.With no side winning Fiona prepares to pull out when a Federation warrior, Samus Aran, arrives and destroys the Tyran squad.After scouting the area they discover a dying Tyran who speaks of a horrific creature responsible for destroying the outpost.Samus checks the victims out and, phased by what she sees, decides to have a rest.This leads her into a world of nightmares where she dreams of an sinister figure questioning her ruthlessly after the destruction of Zebes as she lies helpless, restrained by drugs.The figure explains about his plans to resurrect the metroid from the blood handed down to Samus from her last encounter with them on Zebes.'No!You can't do this!'Samus' last words before she awoke, her nightmare finally over.Or was her nightmare only just beginning...

**Chapter 2 - Intermission**

Samus wiped her deep blue eyes clean and rose from her bunk.It wasn't the most comfortable of places to sleep but she'd been in worse.Turning to see her battle suit cloaked in darkness in the corner, every limb connected with recharge wires and cables, she smiled slightly.Walking over to a small terminal, gathering stray locks of blonde hair from her face and collecting it neatly behind her in the process, she began to remember all the times this suit had kept her safe, got her out of danger and saved her life.With a few button presses on the terminal the suit came alive with light.The cables disconnected sharply covering the mechanical ensemble in plumes of misty smoke.Samus stood patiently waiting for it to clear, sighing as she overheard the Lieutenant outside yelling at her to hurry up.Samus had taken an instant dislike to her irritating habit of questioning herself during battle but she had to admit the Lieutenant reminded Samus of herself when she was a rookie bounty hunter with overeager enthusiasm.Samus had become a lot more cynical since those days, long ago...

The smoke clearing up at last now, the suit stood before her, towering about half a meter over her diminutive 5' 3" frame.She walked up to it, placing her hand into a small cavity on the chest of the suit.She felt a slightly painful wave of heat pass over her palm as the ID scan did its work.It didn't really bother Samus any more after all these years.The heat subsided and Samus removed her hand.

"Security scan complete," a robotic female voice exclaimed coldly as the chest of the suit raised open revealing a small compartment for Samus lined with shock absorbers and warning lights. "Welcome Samus and please have a nice day."Samus cringed and laughed softly when she heard this.When she'd last put it in for maintenance, she'd asked the techies to give the suit a bit of character or artificial intelligence.And this was what they'd come up with...

She climbed in carefully slotting each leg into their respective limb before placing her arms in.She tapped a few buttons inside the hand of the suit and the chest segment whirred into place.It looked small from the outside but the interior was a prefect fit for Samus.She brushed all of her hair together tightly with the mechanical arms and slowly placed her helmet on, taking care not to let any of her blonde locks get caught outside of the suit.She narrowed her eyes slightly as the helmet slotted into place letting them adjust to the visor's settings.

The skies had cleared up whilst Samus had been resting.The atmosphere still cloaked the planet in a spectacular mesh of deep red and orange hues but with no clouds in sight the sun lit up the murky sands which made up the surface of Tyran.There was a natural beauty to the planet which was easily forgotten during this war; colossal mountain ranges stretching into the heavens, a sweeping skyline with a staggering array of brilliant colors and vast lakes of magma bubbling violently.Flocks of birds flew gallantly in the afternoon sky oblivious to the chaos beneath them while the land dwelling creatures cautiously emerged from hiding whenever the gunfire subsided.

As a small segment of the roof of the ship spun open slightly the squad, standing around patiently waiting for Samus to appear, turned to look.A small elevator inside the ship raised a fully suited Samus up into the harsh climate of the planet.From her crouched position atop the ship she front flipped forward to the ground beneath, her movement swift and graceful.The thick gravel and sand crunched under the weight of the suit upon the impact of the landing.She landed perfectly without stumbling even slightly and, through the impressed and excited eyes of the five squad soldiers, she could feel the Lieutenant's glare firmly fixed on her.Samus strutted coolly towards the junior officer who was clapping sarcastically.

"Nice.Thanks for the show, Samus," she said wryly. "Now if you're through giving us the acrobatics display maybe we can get moving.You've already wasted five minutes of our time getting into that piece of junkyard shit you call a battle suit!"

"One question.Where?You have some new info or something?"

"I'll let Lance field this one.He's our computer guy.He found something in that encrypted data disc we found," said Fiona pointing to a young guy sitting on the ground ignoring the conversation taking place. "Lance!"

Hearing his name the man promptly looked up.Seeing Samus standing there looking at him, one hand resting on her hip, he stood up clumsily and stepped forward to greet her.Samus didn't move.He was quite tall standing about g feet in height.He wore glasses and had fairly long and scruffy hair; Classic sign he was a computer nerd Samus thought.Everything else about him wasn't such a giveaway.Standing there in his combats with his rifle slung casually behind his back, he managed to fit in perfectly with the other grunts.Seeing Samus remain still he quickly raised his hand and saluted her with a nervous smile on his face.

"Samus.It's an honor to meet a living legend like you in person.I'm Lance…But I suppose you guessed that already right?Yeah, of course you did.I mean, you're not stupid.You're Samus Aran, the world's greatest warri…"

"What have you got to show me?" Samus asked interrupting him as he began to babble slightly.

Samus hated it when people did that.Besides, she'd grown tired of all the praise and compliments heaped on her ever since Time had named her woman of the year.Pulling out a computer and motioning Samus to take a look Lance brought up a digital map of the area onscreen.It was a dangerous area to be in that was for sure.Being surrounded by hills and mountains made them a perfect target for an ambush.

"See this?" said Lance pointing to a flashing spot on the map. "That's the location of this place…us.Now from what I've decrypted so far, there's an enemy base about five clicks south south east of here.Used to be a village but seems to have been occupied since last week.They probably launched their attack on this outpost from there and retreated back to regroup."

"Which means…"started Samus.

"That their secret weapon is located there," said Fiona finishing Samus' sentence for her. "From the information he's decrypted that's a good assumption."

"Their secret weapon…"said Samus.

Her mind drifted back to the images of the drained corpses of soldiers she'd seen only hours ago.With their bloodied, blotchy and abnormally discolored blue skin it looked as if their very souls had been sucked out of them.Samus knew of only one creature capable of something like that.The creature she had become famous for destroying.The creature codenamed 'Metroid'.She'd been dismissing the idea ever since it had entered her head.After all, she'd destroyed the last of them on Zebes a year ago.

"Yeah Samus.Their secret weapon," said Fiona unintentionally oblivious to Samus' thoughts. "So, I figure we launch a covert attack on their base and that lets us get the jump on them.That way we can take out this thing, whatever it is, before it makes us worm food."

"Wh-What?" said Samus snapping out of her flashback. "What can you tell me about this weapon?Tell me you've got something."

"Only a little," said Lance bringing up a scant amount of text on the screen. "It's an organic life form with some pretty nasty abilities.Not only is it capable of draining it's victims of their life just by the touch, it's a stealthy little shit too.It can fly at a silent velocity of at least 30kph.One minute you could be patrolling and the next thing it's on you and you're dead.Pretty scary.Good job we have motion detectors."

Samus shook her head hearing this.It sounded so much like the metroid.How those rebels 'domesticated' it to do their bidding was beyond her.Whatever was going on, Samus knew they shouldn't stick around her for too long.

"Okay, enough already.O hate to admit it but Fiona's right.We have to get moving if we're gonna catch 'em with their pants down.Transport?" said Samus/

"Neil!" ordered Fiona. "Where the hell is Neil?"

"I'm taking a leak, boss," said a casual voice from behind an *APC in the distance.

"What kind of a way is that to talk to a superior officer!Finish up!We're moving out!"

"Sure, boss."

As Fiona clenched her fist, containing her rage, she turned to face the others.All it took was a simple nod in the direction of the van and the four troops huddled into the back of it.Samus followed slowly behind.

"You need to learn to respect your squad.If you don't, they'll never respect you…Just thought I'd give you some advice.A rookie like you needs all the help she can get."

"Why you…" Fiona started but Samus was already out of her face, piling into the back of the van with her hardsuit.

As Fiona clambered into the front of the carrier, Neil started the engine up.Neil was a very short, stocky guy.Timid in nature and appearance, he was just the sort of guy you didn't expect to see in the military.He had been accepted however on his skills as a mechanic and as a pilot of anything which moves.He looked at the lieutenant with a look which asked, without words, where they were headed.She looked back and tapped directions into the **GPS in the front of the cockpit.The directions, the enemy base…

*APC – Armored Personnel Carrier

**GPS – Global Positioning System


End file.
